Moscow finds the activities of the White Helmets organization increasingly questionable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.

She pointed out that the organization had access to the areas in Syria where western journalists could not go. “It means, it is impossible to check the information that the White Helmets allegedly collect in places that, in their words, become the targets of attacks carried out by the Russian Aerospace Force and Syrian government troops,” the Russian diplomat said. “The organization has been acting in a well-orchestrated manner, receiving the attention of various western media outlets,” Zakharova added.

“The organization’s activities are increasingly questionable,” she went on to say. “We remember perfectly well that many alleged chemical weapons attacks on civilians in Syria were hyped by the media based on information provided by the White Helmets, who often said beforehand that a chlorine bomb was going to be dropped.”

“I would like to point out that their information has become the basis for many media reports, while reporters don’t check the information because it is impossible,” the Russian diplomat noted. “This is just another example of the information merry-go-round. All in all, we consider the White Helmets to be another element of the information campaign aimed at denigrating the Syrian government,” she said.

“We believe that there is a need to make efforts to maintain the fragile processes of stabilizing the military and political situation in Syria, as well as to create conditions for restoring peace and eliminating the threats that terror groups pose,” Zakharova stressed.